Much has changed in the past 12 months but one thing that has stayed the same is the mind-boggling brilliance of Erling Haaland.
It has been exactly 12 months since the Norway striker made his debut for Borussia Dortmund following a big-money move from Salzburg.
Haaland came off the bench against Augsburg on that occasion after 56 minutes and scored a hat-trick in a 5-3 win, offering a taste of things to come.
Here, we have crunched the Opta numbers to highlight just how brilliant Haaland has been.
Haaland competing with the best
If you're a football fan, the only way you could have not spotted Haaland's meteoric rise over the last year is if you live under the proverbial rock.
Indeed, using data across all competitions for the top-five European leagues since his Dortmund debut, only two players can better his tally of 35 goals.
Prepare to be shocked here (Narrator: there is zero shock value involved), those players were Robert Lewandowski (49) and Cristiano Ronaldo (40).
Ciro Immobile, Romelu Lukaku (each 33) and Lionel Messi (29) all trail Haaland, and when we view the numbers through a different lens his past 12 months become even more impressive.
Both Lewandowski (42) and Ronaldo (40) started more games than Haaland's 29. When looking at goals scored per 90 minutes, the Dortmund's star has 1.18 compared to 1.15 for Lewandowski, and 0.99 for Ronaldo. Surprisingly, Luis Muriel 1.57 heads the way here.
What is even more startling is the fact Haaland had 102 shots (including blocks) during this period, way down on Messi (253), Ronaldo (235) and Lewandowski (180).
Indeed, his goals have come from only 58 shots on target. Messi (115), Lewandowski (90) and Ronaldo (85) again head these metrics.
When looking at shots on target per 90, Haaland (1.96) ranks below Muriel (3.14), Messi (2.53), Kylian Mbappe (2.15), Lewandowski and Ronaldo (each 2.11).
No one can better Haaland's shot-conversion rate of 34.31 (Lewandowski for comparison is fifth on 27.22), and while Lewandowski (40) and Ronaldo (29) beat the 28 'big chances' he has scored, both have a lower 'big-chance' conversion rate (55.56 and 52.73 to Haaland's 60.87).
And when it comes to goals/minutes ratio, Haaland's 76.26 is beaten only by Muriel's 55.33. Lewandowski (78.37) and Ronaldo (90.68) are next on the list.
Bundesliga defences taken to Haal-and back
May we all take a brief moment to show our thoughts for Bundesliga defences, who have been given a torrid time by Lewandowski over the past year.
Okay, that's long enough…
If we crunch similar numbers for goals across all competitions for just Bundesliga strikers, it's not exactly hard to see why Haaland has been such a big star in Germany's top flight.
While Lewandowski's 49 goals remain a high, Haaland's 35 is still comfortably better than Andre Silva (26) and Wout Weghorst (24).
The 1.18 goals per 90 minutes is a best among strikers playing in Germany. Lewandowski is of course close behind, but the next best are Lucas Alario (0.86), Andrej Kramaric (0.8) and Silva (0.76).
Lewandowski (180), Serge Gnabry (112) and Silva (110) have all taken more shots but only Lewandowski's 90 on target beats Haaland's 58. Weghorst (53), Gnabry (52) and Silva (51) are not too far behind.
Silva (22) and Weghorst (21) have each scored fewer of their 'big chances', while only three players have a higher 'big-chance' conversion among Bundesliga players.
In terms of goals/minute ratio – Haaland and Lewandowski are the only players below 100. Alario (105.22), Kramaric (112.25) and Silva (117.88) are way off the pace of the superstar duo.
The main takeaway from all of this is Haaland has been sensational over the past 12 months.
Haaland endures Austria thrashing as Norway captain
Erling Haaland endured a miserable outing as Norway captain, with his goal-scoring exploits powerless in his side's 5-1 defeat to Austria in their Nations League encounter.
Haaland, standing in for injured skipper Martin Odegaard, watched on as his side suffered a second-half collapse at the Raiffeisen Arena.
The Manchester City striker became his nation's all-time top scorer with a brace in their 3-0 win over Slovenia, taking his total to 34 goals in 36 games, and threatened to add to that tally when he struck the post in the sixth minute.
However, a dominant start by the hosts was rewarded when Marko Arnautovic thundered his side in front in the eighth minute with a fierce effort off the crossbar.
However, Norway found themselves level six minutes before half-time when Alexander Sorloth headed Julian Ryerson's free-kick beyond the on-rushing Patrick Pentz.
Andreas Hanche-Olsen's foul on Christoph Baumgartner inside the box proved to be the beginning of the end for Norway, with Arnautovic stepping up to score the resulting penalty.
Austria increased their lead soon after through Philipp Lienhart's header, with Stefan Posch nodding the hosts 4-1 in front after being picked out at the back post by Marcel Sabitzer.
The rout was complete in the 71st minute, with Sabitzer again the architect, teeing up Michael Gregoritsch with yet another header to send Austria joint-top of Group B3.
Mona, Hillel kickstart 2024 Canopy Insurance/JISA Alberga Cup season quest with impressive victories
The 2023 Canopy Insurance/JISA Under-12 Alberga Cup finalists, Mona Preparatory and Hillel Academy kickstarted their quest for victory on Saturday when they played opening matches against St. Hughs Preparatory and American International School of Kingston (AISK) at the National Water Commission’s (NWC) Mona field and the AISK field respectively. The 2023 Cup finalists were 2 of 17 matches played across 5 zones set for both Kingston & St. Catherine.
Mona, who played in Zone 4, won their opener against St. Hugh’s and were in high spirits as they believe they have a chance to repeat history. Coached by Vivian Nelson they clocked 11-0; while unsure if his team is ready, he is looking forward to them playing some good football.
"I’m not sure if we’re ready but the season [already] started so we’ll just play. At 11-0, they’re just showing that they picked up from where they left off so, it was a good game, the first game; we just want to see where they are after the pre-season, so [it] never really looked bad, the playing is okay, but I think as we go along we expect some improvement.”
Nelson said that compared to last year, it’s more or less the same results from the first match.
“If we judge by that [match] then, the season is the same; we’re hoping to get there [on the top spot] again. We have an ongoing program plus some of these youngsters play football right round [the year] so when they’re not with me they’re with the Dare to Dream Football Academy; we put in some work in pre-season; expect youngsters [to be] youngsters and score. [But] I’m looking at how they play the position, their discipline and how they control the game.
Noting that while they’re playing for victory, he’s not looking at teams now, he’s focused on his team to see where the season takes them, whilst praising his competent returning players.
Their opening opponent’s coach, Pryce of St. Hughs Prep believes they can get better.
“We have a fairly young team this year, a group of grade 5 boys coming out to play some really nice football, they were up against the defending champions which is very good and for me they performed the best they could.” said Pryce.
“The boys are growing, they are coming along, they have a lot more experience to gain so the more they play, the better they’ll get over the years. They’re just here to put on a good show for themselves this year and get some confidence going into next year’s season. They just need to play faster and a bit more confident.”
In another St. Andrew match, 2023 finalist Hillel, the Zone 2 favorite, took home the gold with a 7-2 score at the end of the match to secure their move to the next round. While both teams were tied at halftime, Hillel took things up a notch in the second half to score 5 more points.
“It was our first game and we just wanted to see how the boys would play real competitively, and they did well; apart from a few mistakes we got back in our game in the second half and scored some goals, tried to get the benchers in and get some experience for the new ones but all in all, we have more work to do because I’m quite sure there are better teams out there to play; we’re looking forward to that; we need the challenge to ensure our team is ready.” said coach Nicholas Locke of Hillel Academy.
Coach-nominated Players of the Match for the 2024 season’s opener included St. Hugh’s James Whittingham and Hillel’s Jace Lowe.
Other matches played in Saturday’s season opener included: Lannaman’s Prep VS Mount Alvernia Prep (2-0), Creative Kids VS Ardenne Prep (0-1), Emmanuel Christian Academy VS Portmore Missionary Prep (8-0) and Sts. Peter and Paul VS Our Lady of the Angels Prep (11-0).
Skinner compares 'immense and intense' Terland to Haaland
Erling Haaland may have hit unprecedented heights for Manchester City but Marc Skinner believes Manchester United have a similar talisman in Elisabeth Terland.
United boss Skinner likened Women's Super League star Terland to City's Premier League hero Haaland after the Norwegian scored twice in Sunday's 3-0 victory over Tottenham.
That marked her first two goals for United since joining from Brighton, having first blasted a volley home before looping another header over Becky Spencer.
Asked to describe Terland, Skinner said: "Intense in a good way. She is a person who is always focused, she doesn't dip off her focus whether it's pressing or whatever the task is, she's all in.
"I think she knows Haaland personally and I don't want to compare the two but the immense and intense action of both of them, that's how she performs."
Terland's heroics helped to ensure United's 100% record in the WSL this season stayed intact, with three wins and three clean sheets from three games.
The former Brighton forward, who found the net 13 times in the league last season, appeared all over the place against Spurs, attempting a game-high five shots with three of those on target.
Her two goals came from an expected goals tally of just 0.65, though, suggesting superior finishing from lower quality chances, something that will delight Skinner.
"I came to a club that wants to achieve big things. I know playing in a better team will make me better," Terland told Sky Sports.
"Part of my job is to score goals, it is great to get the first one for the club. A good win and I am proud of the team."
United finished fifth last campaign and lacked a regular scorer, with Nikita Parris finishing the term as the club's top scorer in the WSL with only eight goals.
Skinner knows the tide may now turn, however, with Terland firing up top.
"I just think she's an incredible talent," Skinner added.
"The beauty of her is I think she slows the moment and sees the opportunity under the most immense pressure."
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